Facebook Scams & How to Recognize Them

Facebook scams are unfortunately alive and well, with trending topics utilizing “Reward Offers” for the likes of free airline tickets and cheap Super Bowl tickets. Unwitting Facebook users run the risk of sharing their personal data and passwords with scammers or getting their accounts taken over, exposing sensitive information such as credit card information that may be stored on Facebook apps.

The BBB. warns of the risks of falling for Like Farming – where users are encouraged to Like and Share posts that belong to a page, usually designed to tug on your heartstrings. In the typical bait-and-switch method, at a certain point, scammers will strip the page of its content, replacing it with promoted for-sale content that the page owner makes a commission on. These pages may also be used to point followers to click on sites that host malware or convince them to share personal details. Users are encouraged to report such pages to Facebook, which usually quickly take these sites down.

The takeaways?
Social media is a prime phishing ground – don’t be too keen to share your personal details.
Beware offers that are “too good to be true” because they usually are.

Here’s an example of a Facebook scam page that’s already been removed.